For The Clowns!
by I Tear Paper For Fun
Summary: Tori feels a little guilty after having Jade's play cancelled. What will she do to fix it? Set after "Prom Wrecker". Jori.


**A/N: Okay guys, I need a little bit of help finding a couple Jori fics. It's a strong possibility both have been taken down, but I just want to be sure. The first is called "Sleeping With The Frenemy" and I have no idea who the author is, I only know that that story was super funny ('cause Jade was the lesbian totally crushing on Tori and Tori was majorly uncomfortable around Jade because of her blatant advances towards her lol. I'm talking about being in a small hot tub and eating chocolate covered strawberries and drinking beer). I really want to know who the author is.**

 **The other fic I have no clue what the title is or who made it, but Jade and Tori star in a school production of "Beauty and the Beast", with Jade being the beast and obviously Tori being Belle. I remember it saying something about Jade having these really cool colored contacts to make her look like a beast with the fangs and everything, and Tori was falling for her and shit; Jade just looking completely like a sexy beast. Just keep in mind though, I'm not talking about the fic that's actually called Beauty and the Beast where it takes place in that universe, it's very much Jade and Tori in the universe of Victorious.**

 **That seemed like a long explanation for finding those.**

 **Anyway, I really haven't been writing like I was supposed to. I'm a busy woman who forgets she has stories to continue writing until a new idea pops into her head. If I thought I was busy before, I'm really going to be swamped with work now. I'm trying guys, I'm trying!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own vicTORious© or its characters. They are the sole property of Dan Schneider and Nickelodeon.**

* * *

I have to be a terrible person. The rest of the weekend left me feeling like a huge jerk, after coming down from my natural high of performing up on stage and giving the people what they want. What am I going on about you ask? I'm talking about the fact that I selfishly got Jade's play _Clowns Don't Bounce_ cancelled.

Realization had hit me hard when I went home that night. It wasn't the first time I've made Jade feel bad by taking something away from her. I needed to fix it, lest I spend more nights lying awake with the guilt eating at me.

The thing is, I've no idea how to make it up to her. She already hates me! She'd probably tell me to pick a pair of scissors from her locker and shove it into my eye, or something really random, like tie a red rag around my head to cover my eyes and smoke a cigarette while waiting for a bull to run me over.

Curse my need to want to patch things up with people I've royally wazzed off.

Here I am, standing at my locker, already having put my things inside, just waiting on Jade to arrive. Cat rounds the corner with her books in hand and stops to chat with me.

"Hi, Tori! Prome was so much fun the other night! Well, it wasn't fun when Robbie didn't believe me about my date—Tug, but it was still fun. You came up with a really great idea."

"Oh, Cat. I don't think I did. I got caught up during prome, but after everything was over I felt bad about what I did to Jade," I say, whining.

"Whatty?"

"…I got her play cancelled, remember?"

"Right! And not to mention the thing with Doug the Diaper Guy."

"I know, I know!" My hands are gripping my hair like a maniac. All I want is for this to be over. "She's really going to let me have it!"

"Well you better decide on what you're going to do fast, 'cause here she comes," she says, pointing at said girl with the permanent scowl on her face. Cat takes off as if she herself is the offender. There goes my support.

Jade stops at her locker with her coffee in hand, and I take the nervous steps forward, clutching the strap of my purse and biting my lip. She hasn't noticed me yet. Maybe I can save myself the pain and walk away—"

But I'm too late.

You know, I'm not sure if I want to run away peeing like Sinjin, stand my ground, or just stay rooted to the floor like I'm a statue, pretending I'm suddenly invisible and Jade will only walk right past me. Those eyes of hers are steely, but the rest of her face is blank—no scrunching of the eyebrows, no twitching, no clenching, not even a growl.

"What do you want, Vega?"

I should be okay, right? So far there's no sign she'll attack me.

"Hey…I uh, came to apologize."

"For which part? Cancelling my play or setting me up with that piece of shit Doug?"

"You hired the guy."

"So? I hired him to make you miserable, not like he and I are besties now, is it. And you're getting off topic."

"Sorry. I'm sorry for everything, okay? I should've waited till next year to have a prom—"

"—Don't you mean 'prome?'" she says sarcastically.

I smile tightly at her correcting me, but at least she said prome.

"…Prome, yes. Next year should've been the year. I was totally a selfish gank for what I did. And I want to make it up to you."

Now this is where it's killing me, because she's looking at me and I can practically see the gears in her head turning and turning. Maybe now she'll decide that it'd make her whole day by throwing that still very hot coffee in my face. I can't say I'd blame her.

"I'll think of something, Vega," she says, eerily too calmly, then walks away with a smirk on her face.

Shit! What have I gotten myself into?! This reminds me of that episode of _Drake & Josh_ where the boys think Megan is out to get them after taking a picture of her hamster, thinking it had died because of the flash. They drove themselves mad with fear. Yep, that'll be me next.

I trudge to Sikowitz's class with that dreadful feeling in my gut that tells me vomit is on its way up, and my palms are sweaty, heart racing and lip quivering. That doesn't go unnoticed by André as I bump into him right outside of the classroom.

"Whoa, hey. What's up, string bean?" he jokes lightly. "You don't look too good."

"André, André!" By now I'm frantically tapping at his chest like a crazed woman, as the concerned look on his face says so. "Jade is going to kill me, I know it! It's payback I tell you! Doug the Diaper Guy was just the icing on the cake!"

"Oh man, I forgot about that. What makes you think she's going to kill you?"

"I might've approached her to apologize," I say while wringing my hands together. "She says she'll figure out what to do with me. I am terrified."

"Holy chiz on a platter."

"I know. What do you think I should do?"

"First, let's calm down. Take a breather, Tori."

I do just that and immediately feel cooler air as I breathe slowly. See? This is why André is my best friend. No one else is going to make me feel better about the potential torture I could be subjected to at the hands of Jade West.

"Cooled down yet?"

"Yeah."

"Great. Now close your eyes and count to ten. Make sure you're breathing slowly and squeeze your fingers together."

"Okay." I breathe in and out, in and out, in and out. Suddenly it doesn't feel like I'm at death's door, and in this moment I feel like I can calmly and rationally get through the day and prepare myself for what Jade is going to throw at me.

"Now what, André? Now what? ...I'm alone, aren't I?" After looking around, it is apparent that my best friend has abandoned me.

I need new and friends and family, it would seem.

* * *

Sikowitz's class can't even be enjoyed like usual because every time I turn around, Jade is staring at me with that smirk of hers that means trouble. I'm so scared I don't even notice that Sikowitz is calling my name until now—now that a ball is thrown at my face.

"OW! Since when did you bring that back?!" My face stings so badly right now. I don't know who I should watch out for—Jade or Sikowitz. Speaking of which, she's laughing away at this moment.

"Bring what back?" Sikowitz asks, as if he didn't know.

"Ball throwing! You lunatic hippie," I mutter the last sentence.

"Yes, that! I needed to get your attention. I started doing it again to break up an altercation between Robbie and Rex. As always, it's effective."

"Well what'd you want?"

"To get your blood pumping. And I was in the middle of talking about a part I had in a small-time movie back in '98, called _Way Downtown_. I played a transgender named Clementine. I spent some time preparing for the role; confused my mother one day when she caught me in one of her dresses…" he chuckles a bit and scratches his chin in wonder, "said something about my father leaving us because of an earlier similar incident…" he mutters.

"My brother loves that movie! I almost forgot you were in it," Cat says. "He said you were really pretty."

Everyone just stares at Cat while she laughs, oblivious to the awkwardness that she just created. Well, she and Sikowitz both, because he just takes the compliment graciously.

"I'll give you five dollars to get back to something worth my time," Jade says.

"I couldn't possibly take your money," Sikowitz says, then takes the bill from Jade and stuffs it in his pants. "Right, now. I do believe you're preparing for your play, Jade, since it was abruptly cancelled—"

I know there's no animosity that accompanies Sikowitz's ill-timed words (he gave me the okay for prome, after all) but he really couldn't have worse timing bringing up Jade's play. There's just no escaping it today!

"—We're looking forward to it this time. Let me know if there's anything you need."

"Oh I'm sure I will." She looks over at me again and I swear she is going to be the death of me.

"Everything okay?" Beck asks me.

Another quick glance at the freak demon tells me I need to keep my mouth shut right now, because she's subtly drawing a line across her neck, the ultimate "you're dead meat" signal.

"Um, sure." Oh how I need him to once again tame the beast that is his girlfriend.

"Now that I think about it, you could easily play a boy yourself, Toro," Sikowitz says randomly.

"What?"

"Like when I played Clementine. I'm thinking your name could be Steve."

"I could see that," Robbie says, with André and even Beck agreeing.

Cat pokes at my chest and says, "Firm, just like a boy." I knock her hand away and glare at her, but she's totally unfazed by it all.

"If we're talking about Tori being a boy, can we talk about Robbie and his need to wear girl pants all the time?" Rex says.

"I do not! It was that one time!" Robbie tries to clarify.

"Does today count as that 'one time?'"

They just argue back and forth again till a ball is thrown at them.

"Class dismissed!" Sikowitz says.

"But we still have like, forty minutes left," André says.

"Oh, well roam about and do as you please. Disperse!"

* * *

At lunch is when I feel some sense of calm. I might have a chance to talk to Beck, get him to talk to Jade about going easy on me. Maybe he can be the mediator/supervisor when everything goes down.

I see him over at the grub truck and before he can sit down at the table with the rest of our friends, I yank on his arm and drag him back inside the school.

"Okay I lied about earlier."

"About what exactly?"

"About being okay. I'm sure your lovely girlfriend told you everything that happened while you were in Canada."

He brushes his hair back and smiles that easy-going smile of his. Maybe I'd swoon over such a gesture when I first came to this school, but Beck is one of my closest friends, I just don't feel attracted to him like that, not anymore. Not when I'm really kind of annoyingly attracted to—

"Trust me, you're overreacting. You won't go through anything life threatening."

"How can you say that? Have you met her?!"

"You'll be fine."  
"I want to believe that, sincerely. But we both know what she's capable of when it comes to me. I really think she enjoys torturing me. Can you please just get her to take it easy on me? I will eternally be grateful to you!"

He looks at me as though he has a secret; that sort of rattles me as much as that porcelain beauty does. Is this a thing? It's like really cool, hot people either are wise masters of the universe or masters of the torturous arts.

"Just be cool. Don't show fear, you didn't do that the past week, and you were rewarded for it." He puts both hands on my shoulders and says, "You think too much. Everything will be okay," and starts to walk back to the table.

"Wait…you wouldn't know how she got that shrimp in my bra, would you?"

"I know nothing of the sort," he chuckles as he jogs backwards.

Guess I'll never know how that happened. Just like the world will never know how many licks it takes to get to the tootsie roll center of a Tootsie Pop.

I reluctantly join him and the rest of my friends at the table. The only other available spot is by Jade of course.

"Hello there, Vega."

"H-heyyyy, Jade." Beck told me not to be afraid, but the high pitch in my voice completely said otherwise.

"I came up with something."

Shit. There it goes, might as well suck it up and accept my fate.

"Really?" I ask, but it sounds more like a statement. If I'm going to do this, then I really do need to play it cool. "What'd you have in mind?"

"Just meet me at my locker after school." With that, she leaves her half eaten sandwich on the table and heads into the school.

"Uh oh, that doesn't sound good," André says.

"You shush! You left me this morning!"

"You see, what happened was—"

"Don't want to hear it, Harris!"

"I'm gonna shut up now," he says as he bites into his burrito.

"Heh heh hehhh, fifty bucks says Tori's gonna get her ass beat by the wicked witch," Rex says.

"Don't say that, Rex. I'm sure Tori will get a firm reprimanding from Jade, that's all," Robbie says. His intention was to make me feel better obviously, but we all know how it was a moot point.

"Since when does she ever reprimand anyone? Sometimes I think you're the real dummy here, not me."

And as their arguing commences once again, Sikowitz comes out of nowhere and throws that ball straight in Robbie's face, with a new follow-up ball hitting Rex too. For once, I'm grateful that hippie does that. He salutes us and walks off with a coconut in his hands.

* * *

The final bell rings and everyone scurries about in the halls, ready to leave the day behind, but I fall back, waiting for Jade at her locker like she told me to.

I lean back on a nearby locker and close my eyes briefly, taking this time to just reflect on some things. I must be crazy. I've taken a liking to Jade sometime after helping her with her _Well Wishes_ play. We had to spend time together for the benefit of the play, but mostly because if I didn't stick around she'd probably murder Mrs. Lee.

That girl put her all into that script, to see it come to life was emotional and totally raw; she's not afraid to go far, not afraid to show that the world is not about rainbows and unicorns but can be really filled with tragedy. It sounds strange, but what I get from her is that after every tragic event, there's always something good that sprouts from it. You may not see it at first, but it'll soon manifest, and when it does you have to seize the opportunity to take control to make things alright. Better than alright—the results are fantastic on epic levels of proportion.

Yeah, that's what Jade indirectly taught me, and I forgot that.

You know, while the play was going on, I would glance at her from the corner of my eye every now and then. She was pleased at how her work was turning out, and she'd watch for her dad's expression, the hopeful look on her face showed me a soft side to her that I could appreciate. The Jade West that made people cower in fear appeared before me so beautifully innocent, it was sweet and I only wished I could have seen more of that from her.

And that's when I knew, I guess. I liked her a lot, and when she accepted a hug from me in earnest, I could've floated off to the stars.

Part of what I admired her for, I shot down myself the moment Sikowitz told me I could have prome. I'll never do that again. To see her shine, especially the way she does so much in the writing of her plays, I'll never miss another opportunity to witness that.

"Don't you just look so content in your own little world," Jade says, surprisingly softly to me. The look in her eyes are soft as well, more gentle than it's been in a while towards me anyway. That look was always reserved for Beck.

I could stand here for a long while and watch her watch me, but I've something important to do.

"Are you ready now?" I say with an equally gentle tone. It seems any fear I had prior to this point is all gone now.

"…Let's go to the blackbox theater."

I nod and wordlessly follow her there, sitting right next to her in a row at the back of the theater.

"Are you nervous?" Jade says.

"No. Should I be?"

"No. It's just I thought for sure earlier you'd have a nervous breakdown. 'Will she attack? Won't she? Nobody knows!' That's pretty much what I thought you'd be thinking."

"I'm fine. Now, what'd you have in mind?"

She leans down to grab something out of her bag, and then hands the object to me. Immediately I know what she wants me to do.

"You're serious?"

"As a heart attack, Vega."

There goes that smirk again; not at all like the daunting smirk she sent my way so many times today alone, it's playful almost.

"Are you going to do this or shall I get Sikowitz involved to persuade you?"

"N-no. No. I can do this. When do you want me to get started?"

* * *

I'm lying on the floor of the stage in the blackbox theater, a week after I first went to Jade to patch things up between us. There's blood all over me, completely ruining my hair and clothes, but not to worry. It's fake blood, and my clothes aren't my actual clothes, I'm currently wearing a clown suit; big red nose; clown shoes; exaggerated, demon clown makeup; and a bright multi-colored wig.

Playing dead isn't so bad, especially when it brings a genuine smile to that crazy playwright's face that I'M so crazy about.

Speaking of crazy, isn't it so much so to have this bloody play here at the blackbox when the obviously less gore-y play _Well Wishes_ couldn't be held here?

Everyone stands and applauds as the curtains close. I stand, preparing to take my bow once the curtains open yet again. When it does, my friends are in the front row cheering the most, Sikowitz is clapping and then removes the coconut he held under his arm and is sipping it again. Even Jade is clapping. I'm surprised this was her form of punishment, although I can't say that I was _too_ thrilled to be the clown that dies, it just freaks me out. There were times I was worried that she'd actually have me hit with heavy objects, but I was being paranoid I suppose.

The blackbox is cleared of everyone else, save for my friends who decided to hang back to congratulate me, either for the performance or for the fact that this was all I had to do instead of die.

Cat takes a few pictures of me in costume, squealing about how it'd be great to show her brother how realistic the blood he got looked.

"Told you you'd be fine," Beck says as he pats me on the back.

"You're absolutely right. I should've known."

"We're going to grab some dinner at Karaoke Dokie. Meet you there?"

"I'd have to meet you guys there?"

"Only because someone needs to talk to you for a bit," he says, winking before he and Cat, André, and Robbie leave the school.

"Well hey there, Bozo," Jade says.

"Hey yourself."

"Have fun?"

I pull the wig from my head and let my wavy hair fall across my shoulders. "Um, it wouldn't be my first choice for fun, but it could've gone a lot worse actually. So…why? Why'd you have me do just this and nothing else? Not that I'm complaining, but you could've beaten me to a pulp or be your slave for the next month."

A mirthful laugh erupts from her, and I don't think she knows what that does to me, what it could do to anyone.

"I was furious at first, Vega…when I learned that my play got cancelled. Then I decided to try and get even at prome, and by then I was only a bit upset. After the whole thing you pulled with Doug the Diaper Guy, I was really impressed. No one stands up to me quite like you do. Or I should say _no one_ ever stands up to me. I didn't want to torture you or anything, as you could see. You being my clown was fitting."

"I was embarrassed enough though."

"That's all I wanted."

"Well doggone."

"Jeezus, you dork," Jade chuckles. "What is this, _The Little_ _Rascals_?"

"You love how dorky I can be." I pause and see her reaction to that statement, and she seems a little uncomfortable because of it. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like—"

"—No it's alright. I get it."

I really am a dork, I always say things that ruin perfectly good moments and—

"But you're right, you know," Jade says.

"What?"

She walks to me, almost seductively, and we're nose to nose. Or nose to clown nose.

"I do love how dorky you can be."

Next thing I know, she's leaning in and makes the briefest of contact with my lips. Then she pinches the clown nose (I'm still foolishly wearing) twice to hear the little honking noise.

She's fighting desperately to hide the growing grin of hers, as I am totally in shock and speechless at what happened.

"You're in clown makeup and wearing a clown nose, and still I find you kissable. Say something, dork," she laughs.

"I'm so confused right now?"

"Obviously. And are you asking me or telling me?"

"I don't know anymore." Then I'm laughing too. "Help me out, I'm missing something."

"Yep, you really are a clown," she says before finally removing that ridiculous clown nose for me. "I like you. I have for a while now."

Feeling shy all of a sudden, I break eye contact with her and stare at her shoes. "Is it crazy that I've always wanted to hear you say that?"

"Maybe. But no one at this school is exactly sane, so…"

"Jade?"

"Yeah?"

"Kiss me again?"

"Only after you've cleaned your face. Ringmaster says you'll get makeup all over her."

Ha. She makes jokes that are corny too.

We laugh as she tousles my hair some more. "True. I'll go change and clean up before we go to Karaoke Dokie."

"Hey Vega?"

"Yeah?"

"You've proven that clowns don't bounce. But how's about you come on over to my place later and bounce that ass onto my lap and more?"

I don't think my eyes have ever bugged so far out of my head before.

"W-w-whaat?!"

"Don't act like you don't like that idea," she says as she winks at me.

She's right. I take my happy clown ass to change, clean up, eat, then bounce over to the ringmaster's to um…put on a show.

* * *

 **A/N: ;)**

 **I was being all too corny you guys, couldn't help it lol. Tori is a lot like Victoria Justice. I saw what she posted on Twitter the other day with the skeleton joke and was like "goddamn, she's even dorkier than I am" lol.**

 **Tori's a naughty thing isn't she?**

 **Well this got stuck in my head after catching "Prom Wrecker" the other day. I thought, "Tori got her wish, but it was selfish. Jade only reacted the way anyone would have, which is to retaliate. Wouldn't Tori do the same if the roles were reversed?" Yeah the episode was funny, but I still hated that Jade was basically shat on, like wtf.**

 **I was going to call this piece "Stargazing", but only because I kept listening to a song by that same name by Tinashe while writing this. It got me through writing the part where Tori was at Jade's locker and thinking about her.**

 **Hit me up, let me know what you think. Till next time. Peace.**


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